NoobieFan
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Forest is follows two people that are sent out a small town in Gangwon for seperete reasons, punishment and job related respectively, after first meeting in Seoul. Both are suffering somewhat from their troubled childhoods and despite their tough exteriors, are able to use this to connect to each other. They have a sweet relationship but with shady businessmen that's related to Kang San Hyuk's ideas for a resort having their own plans, things go arwy. The villains of the series are a little generic and too evil compared to the simplistic story and characters around them but it does create a nice contrast for our leads to overcome. The rescue team plot adds some good adventure scenes and gives depth to Kang San Hyuk, allowing him to show his less ruthless side outside of the relationship with Jung Young Jae.
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This review may contain spoilers
Promising series but it fizzled out and left you wanted more in an unfulfilling way
Doctors is a decent drama with an interesting premise, character ideas and a surprisingly interesting back cast. However, all are either left unfulfilled or under used. The show is really good and delivers on the overall plot until ep 12/13. The drama starts off showing our characters during their last months at school where our main lead, Hye Jung, was a delinquent and how she met Prof Hong and it changed her life. That was a really strong first main arc of the show with all the characters having strong aims and goals. But I can't help but feel that all of that work came off very weak once we were in the present day where everyone in at the hospital. That's disapointing. Hye Jung wasn't as mentally strong as she was as a child as she just seemed normal and, honestly, generic albeit likeable nonetheless. But her plotlines just totally fizzled out at the end and I just lost my investement in the whole plot. Hong was a cool character, was determined and smart - perfectly fine except the second lead was much more interesting. I'm not saying that I have second lead syndrome because I don't really thing Hye Jung and Yoon Do was a better pair (the main leads are right for each other, for sure) but Yoon Do was much more interesting in his motivations, actions, etc. He is on the losing end of a love triangle that he was never going to win but he's not angry or bitter. He takes it in his stride and contiues to function. That's what I feel the story should've focused on more. His scenes were the highlight of the show. In fact, Yoon Do's scenes with his Dr Jo In Joo and Prof Pa Ran were a joy to watch. Their chemistry together would've made for a better series on its own, imo. The side characters had interesting arcs and they were too something that make the series worthwhile but it's all limited as well and just squandered potential. I've seen other reviews that say that Doctors would be best as a long running sitcom and I throughlly agree with that statement. You'd get more chance to flesh out some of these interesting ideas and characters such as Dr Choi's brain tumor, Dr Kang's relationship with his subordinates.It's acting perfecty fine but the lack of compelling overall plot, the not fully fleshed out side plots and focus on the lesser compelling characters means this is just an good series. It could've been great and it was for large parts but I was left underwhelmed towards the end.
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The erotic vibes are heavy. Perhaps a bit cliche but served their purpose. One thing I found fasinating is how the the story was able to be protrected through these acts. Anything more will be spoilers.
Kim Tae-ri continues to impress with every performance. Hopefully that leads to stardom. Cho Jin-woong was wonderfully eccentric, making the perverted Uncle role his own. The subtle movements, the eyes,. The acting all round is up to par.
I'm intriuged by the rewatch value this has. I may need to watch the directors cut. That's a first.
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”I'm just an actor playing a king. You really are Concubine Yu.”
This was a tough film to take in. It's such a multi-layered phenomenon that it’s difficult to really take it all in and convey my thoughts on it. In some ways, this is a tough tale about unrequited love between two lifelong friends who have grown up in an Opera Troupe, playing the parts of The King and Concubine Yu in “Farewell My Concubine”. Dieyi is struggling with his homosexual love towards his friend, partner, brother (as Xiaolou calls him) while failing into the trap of art limitating life. And to make things harder, Xiaolou has fallen in love with another. In other ways, it’s a social retelling of the struggles of the Chinese citizens through pivotal yet tumultuous events of the 20th Century - beginning with the Sino-Japanese War then the Revolution with Mao and his army, then the cultural revolution. It does a great job of combining it all together for one cohesive epic spanning near 3 hours.The run time was a joy to sit through as this film was truly enthralling. The performances more than matched the rest of the film making, the grand costumes, poignant soundtrack and story elements. Leslie Cheung brought his absolute all to, what was essentially, two characters - Concubine Yu and Dieyi. The struggle of it all is hard to portray, and Cheung brought the role to life. Impactful film from all aspects.
Fair warning to all (and spoilers): Suicide is a main fixture in all points of the film. You’ve been warned.
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There was quite a lot of messages in this film. But what really stood out to me was the message regarding Chinese-Korean citizens, which given the director's heritage isn't that big of a surprise. I liked most of the elements of this film, the performances were quite mesmerising and helped carry this ambigious film that I still can't figure out (evem after rewatching a few scenes). The ending (well, the middle) allows for an open interpretation for what happened. Even when given further background to explore, there is still an underlingering uncertainty to it all. Watch it and judge it by yourself. Was this review helpful to you?
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Maybe the most influential story of all time
Instant classic. The movie is pretty much immaculate. The only things I'd point out as less than stellar, Kikuchiyo'death being not as impactful as it could've been, are minicule and nitpicking at best.The pacing is perfect. A 3 hour run time can put most die hard movie fans off, but the gripping storytelling, acting from all of the cast with such range of emotions - heartfelt to dramatic - and cinematography just catches you and never let's you go until the title cards say "The End".
Takashi Shimura, Isao Kimura and Toshiro Mifune all give exceptional performances. The wise veteran, giving wisdom, the naive protoge and the brash unpredictable rogue. Mifune steals any scenes he's in with his charisma, his energy, his range and the weight behind everything he says. You could follow him for the run time and be just fine.
Kurosawa's masterpiece, indeed. Every shot is beautiful. Timeless direction and camera work.
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Lee Jun Ho’s role in this drama was incredibly hard. He had to play someone plagued with drama and hardship but was also resilient. Being the one we, as viewers, follow, he was a brilliant focus point. His chemistry with the rest of the cast was pretty outstanding. Everyone gelled in their role and was able to bring something vital to the drama.
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You'll wish to go shopping after watching this
Alive won’t break any new ground as far as Zombie movies but it follows the formula well. It's not a scary zombie film, it's more about the loneliness, the isolation and the will to live through it. But with that being said, there were a few big jump scares while our main character, Joon-Woo is looking through apartments for food and other essentials. The zombies themselves looked amazing and so creepy. The transformation of those creatures sends shivers up my spin. The chase scenes themselves were very exciting. The sheer number of the zombies chasing our MCs made the chases very tense and gripping. The dialogue throughout the film is rather limited with not much being said given the characters' situations but I found that they were able to convey communication really well thanks to their facial expressions and good use of the technology around them. Joon-Woo using his phone and his drone and Yoo-Bin using her laser pen to good comedic effect but showing her smarts using rope to send food, saving Joon-Woo from starvation. Just a good solid film from a production and story standpoint. I enjoyed every moment of the film. One of the biggest criticisms of the film that I have is that it's very short compared to most Korean films (which are mostly 2 hours plus in my experience). Perhaps some scenes are cut out or the writers didn’t feel the need to drag the story out longer. There is room to develop the film more, I feel.The performances in Alive were really good throughout the film. The acting from Yoo Ah-In is particularly strong as well. He brings a good sense of frustration and regret to the role during the opening 40 minutes where it is basically a one man film. The short cameos from Jeon Bae-soo and Lee Hyun-wook provided some nice spice. Park Shin-Hye was solid in the film as well. Her character is very resourceful and friendly to living things such as her plants and Joon-Woo. That came across in her acting - Shin-Hye is a very soft natured person naturally so the role was perfect for her and her other roles. Again, there weren’t many lines but she sounded natural and on-point when called upon.
I just want to point out the brilliant soundtrack. From what I heard, it was only two or three songs (Break by Beenzino and Sail by Inni) but Sail by Inni in particular had a real tension fueled vibe to it. The eerie synth sound brought gravitise to the scenes it was used in.
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At heart, this is a social commentary on the struggle of doctors having to choose their ethics over the harsh system they are supposed to adhere to. The idea that you shouldn't admit a mistake to protect the reputation of yourself and the hospital, even just a little bit. The inner fight to choose a side is strong for anyone, and it's explored heavily through Dr Yeom Dong Il, an intern in the surgery department. But that aside, the political elements are vastly interesting as well. The idea of cliques and past relationships having so much effect. Choi Do Young - our conscience opposed to Jang Joon Hyuk - is plagued by that idea. No matter his values, he is expected to stick by Jang Joon Hyuk and his version of the truth. We see small elements of that in Vice-Director Woo (Played by Kim Chang Wan). He is on the side of Chief Lee, previously being wronged by Dr Jang but due to being friends with an ally of Dr Jang, he had to abandon that dislike to further his career. This brings many different, little threads to the table, giving this drama so much depth that you'd think on first viewing. That's thanks to masterful writing and direction (Lee Ki Won and Ahn Pan Seok respectively)
The acting perfectly complemented the subtlety of the show. I'm not quite sure where I heard this, but I once heard someone praise Kim Chang Wan’s acting for this very drama and I never thought anything of it but within a few screens, I remembered that statement. His sly facial expression, the movements in his eyes when he was plotting. Kim Chang Wan isn't the show's biggest character, plot wise, but he's fascinating to watch perform. He was quite mesmerising in any scene. He was one of many who were excellent in White Tower. Kim Myung Min as Jang Joon Hyuk, the ever reliable Lee Sun Kyun as Choi Do Young, Song Sun Mi as Lee Yoon Jin. The names I can list off tenfold.
It took me a while to find White Tower on the Internet, but that struggle was well worth it. It was an engrossing drama that had very interesting medical, ethical and political elements while very little tropes you can see elsewhere. Lee Yoon Jin and Choi Do Young are described as being very similar in this show by other characters. Both have a strong sense of justice. So, you'd expect there to be some romance between the two, right? That's not what transpires. Choi Do Young is a happily married man, who doesn't think of any other thoughts. Nor does Lee Yoon Jin. They are simply friends (through his wife) and want to help the bereaved Kwon family. Isn't that refreshing? That's what White Tower brings. Just a well rounded, excellent drama through and through.
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All the actors were good in their roles. Kang Tae Oh was somewhat wasted as he mostly just stood there and smiled. Admittedly the idea of his character was a fantasy, a figment of past memories by Ji Na but wasted is the term that I'll go for. The best two actors were the ones with the strongest characters - Seo In Guk and Lee Soo Hyuk. Lee Soo Hyuk is so good and I'm glad he was used correctly. Tak Dong Kyung as a character was likeable. The choices the writers go in aren't too wayward. Park Bo Young was witty and amusing as always.
I had a good idea of what I was going to write for this review and rethinking about it has made me rewrite complete sentences. Enjoyable but wasted potential.
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What truly bothered me was how inconsistent Eun Hwan Ki’s anxiety was. When we are first introduced to the character, it's crippling to the point where he can't look anyone in the eye (and no, it's not just his secretary overreacting although she is in hilarious fashion). However it goes on to be simply fear of public speaking and lack of confidence. Far too passive for what we were introduced to. But you can mark the argument that the introduction is the mistake.
So My Introverted Boss is a standard k-drama. Despite some themes involving suicide and self harming, etc, this is fairly comedic and fun to watch. Maybe the aforementioned writing and editing is noticeable. It's fairly inoffensive though. As is this show. Eun Hwan Ki growing into a confident boss is a great story and the best aspect of watching this drama.
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This is the quintessential K-Drama for me.
What's Wrong With Secreatary Kim was an enjoyable experience for me. Both times. It was the second K-Drama that I watched (after Strangers from Hell) so a lot of the tropes that the series does run through (unfixed childhood trauma, cutesy office romances, knowing each other from childhood, etc bleh) didn't register to me yet. But on re-watch, it still doesn't bother me as much, although a few of those tropes are the weakest aspects of the series. I think this was still a funny drama that captured esseance of what this was going for perfectly. Our male lead, Lee Young Joon, is an arrogant prick (pardon my swearing) but he's likable despite that. It's endearing and you can't help but smile as he looks at himself in the mirror. And I think things like that sum up this show's tone - a lot of it is played for chuckles and light hearted emotions. Kim Mi So is the opposite to Lee Young Joon as she isn't as affluent, more humble and nicer. I personally don't buy that she is dirt poor but that's a nit-pick. Together they are a great pair of leads for us to follow with some great chemistry. They were funny together, especially when Young Joon was feeling jealous or angry, both acted well enough individually, etc.Where the show lacked was the plot with Young Joon's brother and the confusion between the two. It's not explained well at all. None of it. We don't really know why LYJ's name was changed (it's evident that it was done for a surprise that wasn't a surprise). The Sung Yeon character was just poorly written from start to finish. It's awful. It's a real black mark on what is otherwise a good drama. The supporting plots were all good and added something to the series. It added some depth to our main leads seeing how they are intergrated together. It did make the series feel more than the Mi Soo and Young Joon show. Ji Ah and Gwi Nam's relationship was just the sideplot that makes up for the aforementioned Brother/Mistaken Idendity story.
Park Seo Joon stole the show with a great performance. He brought the Lee Young Joon character to absolute life. Never had a bad scene despite the writing or the plot. He made what could've been a dispiasble character into a ML that everyone loves. Quotes galore, facial expressions galore. He was brilliant. And he matched with PMY perfectly. We all know that Park Min Young isn't the deepest actress (although she is great in When The Whether Is Fine in a darkest, more subtle role that she usually has) but she was really good as well.
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This was a brilliant drama that gives its viewers a refreshing, slow paced healing session that goes through methods of grieving and caring for one another. No clichés with the love story. The lost first love is a wonderful human being who only wants to help those around her. Our two main leads, Ha Won and Seo Woo, are both struggling with loss and through the use of love and an AI box, they are allowed to work through it and all the struggles that follow. But I think the second set of leads are just as excellently done. Kang In Wook, the husband of Ji Soo, is also in terrible pain, not only after the events of the opening episodes (no spoilers) but his past that links with Ha Won. He can come off as our antagonist, at first, with his attitude and actions but he learns to open up and be free thanks to Soon Ho and his music. And if that wasn't deep enough, there is a very good side plot involving the smaller roles in a Boarding House that Seo Woo lives in. The story is very rich and well developed in all facets except maybe a few technical capabilities (but we’ll ignore those because it’s television). The use of classical music was both melancholy and soothing at the same time. Ditto the soundtrack as well.
The acting of course matches the drama story and writing; just incredible. Jung Hae In is perfect for this role and he knocks another drama out of the park with his terrific acting. An incredible smart young man who is polite but holding a tragic past and an unrequited love interest is a tough role to partake in. So many emotions need to be done in the minute ways. It’s a true nuanced performance that is complimented by a similar character played by Chae Soo Bin.
I would agree with the sentiments that this has a very dream-like feel to it. It’s hard to even say what I felt like watching this drama. I was hooked but I had this intangible feeling. It’s nice.
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